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Monday, December 07, 2009

Day 2 in the Studio

First snowfall of the year, en route to Conway.Day two in the studio. In between sessions, Massachusetts had its first snow of the season. Katryna and her kids went to the circus in NYC, the Nields-Duffys had the distinction of coming in dead last in Northampton's Hot Chocolate Run, and also bought a Christmas tree.

We also went to church. "There is only one story," said Steve Philbrick. "The story of the year. It begins as a tender young thing; then becomes fruitful. It dies, is buried, goes underground. But Life does not die. It comes back to life in the spring again."

I can't decide whom to vote for in the election tomorrow. I initially loved Alan Khazei; then Mike Capuano because of his view on the health care bill. But it's awfully tempting to go with Coakley and have another woman in the Senate. We in MA are so lucky to have such great candidates. I will vote tomorrow. That much I know. And it won't be for the Boston Celtics owner.

I love the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD Raising Sand so much it hurts. Also, I have decided I like Journey. I know readers of How to Be an Adult will be shocked to hear this. I just realized life is too short to hold grudges. And "Don't Stop Believing" is just plain fun.

Elle and Jay have broken many of our Christmas tree ornaments already, and we haven't even started decorating the tree. Oh, dear.

Thank you for your music recommendations! One more question: Should I get Pandora or Rhapsody?

Here is a video of my attempt to record the guitar to the song "I Choose This Era." Though we ended up using a subsequent take, this officially documents the beginning of the recording of our new CD which we are tentatively calling "The Full Catastrophe," at the risk of getting some smug and mean reviews a la "Shark Sandwich/ Sh*t Sandwich."

6 comments:

Thanks for the peek into the making of the new album. I'm really looking forward to it.

On the Pandora vs Rhapsody front, Pandora is great for finding new music. Definitely play with that. But you can't choose exactly what you'll hear and you're limited to "skipping" only 6 songs an hour per "channel" you create, which can be frustrating. I haven't used Rhapsody in a long time, but I'm liking Mog ( http://www.mog.com ) , a new subscription service. They seem to have a little more than half of the songs suggested by people in the last blog entry's comment section. They also have a free trial that doesn't require a credit card, but it's only for 1 hour.

I just ran the Hot Chocolate Run as well - it was my first 5K. I wish I'd bumped into you and your family, it would have made it even more special. (Were you after the person in the turtle costume?)

N- I love the name Full Catastrophe, but when I heard you say it on the video it sounded like "Folk Catastrophe" when you say it fast. I wonder if it will sound like that on the radio. But then again, maybe it would be really funny. Just wanted to let you know what I heard. -Moorea

Moorea: Folk Catastrophe is pretty funny and potentially true. Thanks! And Stan, thank you for the suggestion about Mog. I am actually scared of all these applications, as I don't want music to be an overwhelming river of information. So I may hold off on all that for a bit while I enjoy the suggestions you all have made. Right now, I am enjoying Radiohead, the Little Willies, the Decemberists and Neutral Milk Hotel. Thanks, friends! Keep the suggestions coming! You are better than Pandora or Rhapsody (or Mog.)

For wonderful sounds and songwriting I must suggest Minnesotan Peter Mayer. "Elements" is perhaps my favorite of his albums, and "Midwinter" is great for its theme/message/lyrics. Though basically all of his lyrics are great.

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About this Blog

This blog started in 2004 as a way for Nerissa and Katryna Nields to continue to blather to their fans while Katryna was on maternity leave after giving birth to her son. Mostly Nerissa posts because she has a great need to blather, but occasionally Katryna gets a word (or a cartoon) in. These days, we are preparing for the release of our 16th album, The Full Catastrophe. We are also mothers, and love to explore how our children and our roles as moms impacts our writing and music. We have written a book which came out in September 2011 called All Together Singing in the Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music with Your Family.

Nerissa is the author of two other books; Plastic Angel (Scholastic, 2005), a story of two teen age girls who find purpose and meaning through friendship and music; and How to Be an Adult, a guide for 20 somethings who have need of a road map.

For the purposes of protecting the anonymity of her children, Nerissa's daughter is called "Elle" and her son is called "Jay" in these writings. Her husband Tom is referred to as "Tom," only without the quotation marks.